Vegas adds Spanish link to Web siteVegas.com,...

Vegas adds Spanish link to Web site

Vegas.com, the Web site that is almost as action-packed as Sin City itself, has gone bilingual.

Visitors can go to www .vegas.com and click “En espanol” or go directly to www.espanol.vegas.com for hotels, tours, tickets, show times, weddings, golf information and more.

Vegas is “the No. 1 travel destination of Spanish speakers in the United States, according to the numbers we were looking at,” said Bryan Allison, the senior director of marketing for Vegas.com. “That’s why we thought this was so important to do.”

Many European Web sites are multilingual, but few U.S.-based Web sites are. Blame it on the economics of the travelers and of the industry.

Although Latinos travel as much as non-Latinos, they don’t spend as much, said Henry H. Harteveldt, principal analyst for San Francisco-based Forrester Research.

Further, developing the sites is expensive, Harteveldt said. “Most of the industry is strapped for cash, and so they choose to invest limited marketing and development dollars against projects or market segments that offer a faster or larger ROI [return on investment].” Vegas.com also offers bilingual telephone consultants. For information, call (888) 719-4040.

Remembering the children of the Holocaust

A dress. A doll. A diary.

These are the scraps of the lives of Jewish children who survived the Holocaust, some by hiding (one in the sewers for 14 months), others by transforming themselves or taking on new identities.

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington was to have opened “Life in Shadows: Hidden Children and the Holocaust” late last week. The exhibit, in honor of the museum’s 10th anniversary, is to continue through May 12.

The exhibit is free and open 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily except Yom Kippur (Oct. 6) and Christmas. For information: 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place S.W., Washington, DC 20024; (202) 488-0400, www.ushmm.org.

A ‘Love Boat’

is reborn as

the Discovery

The former Island Princess, one of the original ships used on the popular TV show “The Love Boat,” will sail again as the Discovery, the flagship for a new line offering cruises to such remote locations as Easter Island.

The company, based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., spent $13 million to renovate the 31-year-old ship, said Jean Adams, on-board sales manager for the cruise company. Island Princess was one of two Princess ships used to film “The Love Boat,” the ABC series that ran from 1977 to 1986.

The line is offering a two-for-one deal on its inaugural sailing, a transatlantic crossing from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, on Nov. 30.

Contact Discovery World Cruises, (866) 623-2689 or (954) 761-7878 or at www.discoveryworldcruises.com.

Coach life gets easier for those who pay full fare

Imagine a world of coach in which you never get stuck in the middle seat and you get priority boarding and baggage handling.

That’s what Continental is promising customers -- even coach -- who pay full fare. It hopes its EliteAccess program will increase loyalty among and attract more full-fare business travelers.

The preferred customers also can go to the head of the line if they arrive after general boarding begins. Their luggage will be unloaded first at the destination airport.

Associated Press

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Guide to Dallas and Fort Worth

Yee-HAW. Here’s a guide to Dallas-Fort Worth that spotlights the Texas twosome and their neighbors in a 90-page booklet that includes maps, coupons, sightseeing and attraction information and more. For a copy, contact the Dallas/Fort Worth Area Tourism Council, (817) 329-2438, or visit www.visitdallas-fortworth.com.

DEAL OF THE WEEK

Shake hands with the leprechauns

Find a pot of gold hiding in your vacation budget on a $499 four-night, six-day escorted tour of Ireland.

The land-only tour is available on weekly Thursday departures, Nov. 6, 13 and 20, and again on Jan. 15, 22 and 29. Departures are also available in October, February, March and April, priced from $559. Airfare is extra ($431 round trip from LAX to Dublin). The price includes hotel accommodations with private bath, daily breakfast, four dinners, bus transportation, sightseeing, taxes and hotel service charges. For information, contact CIE Tours, (800) CIE TOUR (243-8687), www.cietours.com.

-- Compiled by Times staff